"That's clearly no ordinary shovel." Chum said brushing himself off not knowing Jack was near the wagon inspecting it. Buckhead had pushed the bear beast back, small trees and dirt flew up while the ground shook as both beasts collided forty meters away in the forest.
A searing pain clamped around the back of Jack's neck before his body was slung around in a circle and released. Twisting his body Jack planted his shovel deep in the dirt cutting the ground as he forced himself to a stop.
"For a big guy, you're pretty light on your feet and do well with concealing your presence. I didn't realize you were already behind me." Jack said snatching his shovel out the ground.
The head of the shovel held a mound of dirt, with a swing, the dirt flew from the shovel and shaped into several small spikes of hard clay.
Chum eyes widened in confusion as Jack was no longer in place, but now behind him. With a pushing palm to his back, Chum entire body went limp and the dirt spikes embedded themselves into various parts of his body.
The charcoal glow from his arms disappeared as Chum hit the dirt.
"This is usually the part when I bury you to make soil for my money making shrubs, but im not going to kill you. Not until I know for sure what you're hauling. " Jack said while throwing the shovel over his shoulder walking back towards the wagon.
It only took him a few seconds to find the trigger releasing the cloaked energy that hid the captives. Jack's eyes studied the kids in horror. They all looked like they were in some kind of trance, they're eyes were white as snow, rolled backwards and their bodies were as stiff as a board.
"The hell is that?" He questioned himself looking at a insect beast with tentacles waving around sitting on a ledge where some of the kids were shackled to.
The big eyes of the beatle rotated stopping on Jack before launching with terrifying speed. Moving his head while screaming in a panic, the insect beast flew passed his face as a light formed behind him. Looking back, he witnessed the beast dissappear into the light completely vanishing.
Feeling his body and looking over himself, Jack exhaled in relief.
"Thank you, that was the most hideous bug or whatever that thing was I have ever seen in all my forty years. " he whispered with wide eyes.
Just then his bull beast walked up with black balls of fur stuck on its horns and blood smeared all over its white muscular body.
"Come on Buckhead, how many times do I have to tell you. Don't play with your target, just finish it quickly. That beast was a simple mid mature hauling beast." Jack said patting his side. The bull reared its head down and back up pushing Jack into the wagon with multiple grunts. It then swung its head towards the area where Chum was supposed to be, but instead he was gone.
"Ahhh damn it, Yea you're right buddy, i guess i could have taken my fight a little more serious too, at least yours didn't get away." He said rubbing his head.
"I guess he was much tougher than he looked."
Jack gathered his mind for a moment before hooking Buckhead to the wagons and taking off to Capetown, a small city surrounded by thick,six hundred meter tall walls. A height of a skyscraper building.
Once there, he checked in with the guards. Fortunately for him the town itself was no longer on lock down. Whenever a beast wave occurred no one could get in or out by traditional means as the whole city would be on lock down.
"You missed a pretty good show Jack, a bunch of needle horned wasps entered the city. It wasn't a big deal, we handled those things without anything crazy occurring." A young guard with blonde dirty hair spoke.
"They were all low matured Jack, don't let Parce make it seem like a walk in the park." A second guard who looked a little bit older spoke. His jet black long hair brushing upwards a bit as he took off his helmet.
Jack smiled and rubbed his shiny balled head. "Low matured or not, if enough of them gang up on you at once, you could be dead within a flash. " Jack responded.
"See, I told you. It was a big deal." The black haired guard replied hitting the other playfully on his shoulder.
"Ah whatever, you didn't kill any of them but lets not discuss that now. So what's this, Captain Issac said you had some trouble while harvesting. These aren't your usual forms of transport." He said looking at the wagons.
"Indeed, call the captain for me, I dont want to start a scene or anything. Its something he should see first."
With that, Jack made sure the wagons appeared empty by flipping the switch on the dash. They were covered in black tarp, but he did it to make sure as one of the wagons was bent and partially broken in areas thanks to Buckhead.
Some time later, Jack and a firmly muscular man with brown spikey hair and a patch over one eye wearing a blue and white guard uniform conversed. The uniform displayed many small medals over his right shoulder, they were inside a large room with multiple long tables and food spread throughout.
Sitting at the tables were thirteen kids with a branded scar of a bird resembling a crow talking flight with skeleton wings. They were eating up a storm while Jack and captain Issac, who was in charge of the guards stood off to the side near the door.
Just then, a third man entered, he was lean, tanned and bulky standing around six and a half foot. His orange silk hair and beard looked to be combed to perfection. Along with him was a small brown skin woman with pink hair wearing a lab coat.
"The results are in, from what I've discovered none of these kids exists. There is not a single record of they're DNA anywhere. No records of them being born at all, but thats not the main part." The brown woman said looking at the paperwork in her hand.
"Usually I would be able to take the DNA we retrieved from them and find records of they're family, close to Kin or something. " she said in a serious tone, her brows slightly frowning in confusion while studying over the paperwork.
"But we have nothing, multiple bloodlines erased like they never existed." She added.
"Thank you Dr. Mabis." The man with orange silky hair spoke, he was the city head of Capetown. Any and everything went through him as the commander of an entire city.
"It seems the organization that has been taking kids has reached our gates. They're last known location was in the North Tijera kingdom. " the city head spoke. He had a steady and calm, authoritative voice. With every word he spoke, his voice would pull you in without force.
"I thought that was just a rumor, there has been no reports on children being taken within our kingdom." Jack responded.
"On the contrary that isnt true, there has been many reports, reports of missing kids and family murders. All in rural areas with a population less than 10,000. There is much information that isn't given to the public. Unfortunately with my position as city head, im in the loop about many things such as this, but i cannot share it so what I just said does not leave this room."
Jack and Captain issac looked at eachother for a moment before they're attention focused on the city head again.
"So the children have no homes or family and their minds have been tampered with?" Asked the city head.
"Yes Sir Goldshier, we've asked them many questions and they know about our world, how to live and their names and much more. The only thing they do not remember is family and many events leading up to now and possibly more smaller events, but nothing that would damage who they are as a person or how smart, strong, dumb, clever, foolish one may be. Its just gaps in their memories. "
"Jack mentioned seeing some kind of weird insect watching over the kids, from what he could tell it has to be someone's beast. It was summoned back after Jack found the kids. Our hypothesis is that it has something to do with their gaps in memory. " Captain Issac said.
"This could be dangerous, you know keeping them here in Capetown. Actually im sure it will be." Jack added.
"Yes, I agree. However the capital will not bother looking twice at those kids. I've sent urgent detail on the matter to other cities as well asking for they're aid in deciding what to do. Until further notice they will stay at the orphanage. "
"They're families were killed in a small battle that took place near the boarders of Ashwafala and the Crown kingdom. People of Ashwafala and the Crown kingdom perish there everyday. No one will think twice about that story. Our city, Capetown will act as a shelter in memory of the people which are they're families who perished and for they're sacrifices will help they're children. "
"You make all that up on the spot just like that?" Jack asked with raised brows, a bit surprised.
"A swift and steady tongue is essential for such a position of city head. Coming up with stories so suddenly that makes sense is apart of the job. Now I must tend to other pressing matters. Captain Issac, see to it they all get to the orphanage and settled in without issue."